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Kokushi no Naraku
"Cage of the sinful, ''Cycle of life's illusion, Within the womb we weep." '' - Kokushi no Naraku Kokushi no Naraku (黒死の奈落, lit. "Hell of the Black Death") is a threat to the existence of humanity in the ninja world. He is a walking pestilence, a calamity in the flesh, whose very presence inspires panic and hopeless despair in any around him. He has no affiliation- no friends, no family, no lovers. All who have every known him have perished in ghastly, wasting disease. Naraku is a servant of death itself, spreading the truth of life to all the unworthy- that life is suffering, and that death is the final release. Appearance Standing at a height of seven feet, the gaunt priest towers over the humans beneath him. His willowy frame is thoroughly concealed beneath a thick trench coat. He carries no weapons, which is conspicuously peculiar considering his reputation. Little can be seen of his other features. The few exposed patches of his bald head reveal disgusting, puss-filled sores and surgical scarring, and a black gas mask with reflective lenses covers his face entirely. Naraku's stride is faulting, slow, and tedious, as though he does not have full control of the muscles in his limbs. He moves with a jerking, violent motion when in haste, and his hands can be seen shaking at all times. Personality Kokushi is polite, respectful, and utterly insane. His abnormal mind has an entirely different set of values from ordinary people. In his philosophy, life is a punishment against those who would reject the gifts of Jashin. In his perspective, all who live are sinners, and any act that would prolong life is heresy. But his master is merciful. He has imparted upon Naraku a duty and responsibility- to visit suffering upon all that live, and to deliver absolute punishment to those that would aspire to conquer death. Naraku enjoys long walks on the beach, and writing and reading poetry when he is not acting on his master's behalf. He often spends hours constructing special sermons in advance of a new massacre, so that he might profoundly extol the virtues of his god. In battle Naraku is serious and reverent, and keenly points out the flaws in the philosophies of his foes just as he brings them low. Naraku is also a scientist with a vast understanding of animal and cellular biology, biochemistry, physiology, and genetics. His methods in the development of special viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungus are sophisticated and advanced. Thanks to his constant experimentation and cultivation of these fabulous organisms, and the ample opportunities he has had to field-test his research on other people, his diseases have become very deadly and effective. History Kokushi no Naraku was not given a name at birth. This might seem unusual, but it is an ancient tradition for every head priest of Jashin to sacrifice his firstborn upon an altar out of respect for his god. The newborn child is left upon the altar among the disease-ridden corpses of animals, among filth and contamination. Within days or even hours, the child would succumb to death from the cold, starvation, disease, vermin, or predators. Kokushi no Naraku was to have been the tenth generation sacrifice- but Jashin saw fit to visit upon the newborn his blessings. Instead of perishing, the babe survived, even in spite of being infected with many deadly diseases. The head priest, Naraku's father, saw this as a good omen. Naraku was raised among the cultists, learned their ways, and came to worship and adore their god of mortality. It became a requirement that he wear special protective equipment while living among them, which he came to hate. When Naraku came of age to surpass his father and attain the mantle of head priest, he did so with avid dedication. Over the subsequent years, the cult grew greatly under his oversight. As he saw them advance and prosper, he came to feel a great sense of... disgust. Unlike the people he lived among, Naraku knew of true suffering. He knew what it meant to hide one's face, to live in a separate existence, to feel constant, throbbing, mind-numbing pain... to see them smile and laugh, to bathe in the warmth of eachothers' company was more than he could bear. Eventually, Naraku snapped. One day, as he was committing a sermon, Naraku removed his mask so that his flock might truly understand the gifts of Jashin. As a reward for their dedication and worship of Jashin, they were released from their suffering. One by one, the cultists died as a rotting pestilence overwhelmed their bodies. Some did manage to escape him... but there were no survivors. Naraku left the disease-ridden swamps of his homeland in order to spread the truths of Jashinism and to be Jashin's mortal hand and voice among the sinners of the ninja world. In the course of his holy works, Kokushi has come to recognize the errors of his youth. He has learned that he cannot force others to accept Jashin's embrace by killing them, but only through a deeper understanding of life. When his victims understand true and complete suffering, they will beg for the release of death. Relationships None who have ever seen his face have survived. Those that have heard his scriptures are never long for the world, either, eventually withering away painfully. Abilities Mugennarraka (無間奈落, lit. "Hell of Eternal Suffering"): Kokushi no Naraku has a rare syndrome that causes high levels of immunodeficiency and immune tolerance within his body. As a consequence, his body does not mount any form of defense against contamination or disease within him- but at the same time, a violent immune response against these diseases (which would likely kill him first) is also absent. He is a walking storehouse of disease and pestilence. If he even shares the same air or lives in proximity to other humans, contamination and subsequent death are assured, and it is for this reason he wears a gas mask and re-breather. He employs this unique trait of his by cultivating many dangerous and harmful diseases within his own body, some of which are mutations and breeds of his own invention. These types of diseases are roughly categorized as cancers, bacteria, molds, parasites, or viruses. The diseases listed below are not a complete list, but merely the most common strains and varieties he employs. Andromeda Strain: Kokushi's vile experiments into virology have born a rotten fruit. After thousands of experiments into retro-viral therapies and a member of jugo's clan, he has perfected a new form of virus. The Andromeda Strain, as he calls it, is the penultimate of viruses. This extraordinary breakthrough is a triple-stranded recombinant phage. Not only does this virus bind with existent genetic sequences, it copies them entirely. In this fashion, the virus grows in length and complexity as it rapidly mutates to encode additional genetic sequences into its "library". In addition, by incorporating a variation on the chakra sensitivity of the jugo clan's kekkei genkai, he can use his own chakra to induce which genes are expressed by the virus at a time, which in turn can allow an infected biomass's morphology to rapidly mutate. Since infecting himself, Kokushi has assimilated thousands of human genetic sequences into his every expanding "body", along with countless phages, bacteria and parasites. With a mere thought, he is able to transform his flesh into any of these thousands of diseases, forms and minds, and can bud real clones of himself or others. Naturally, he can also use this ability to "awaken" the kekkei genkai in the genes of those he's devoured, or to mimic their chakra natures. Clones he creates using this ability can also be endowed with the memories of the original, if he has fully consumed his victim's brain and absorbed a sufficient quantity of the victim's biomass and chakra. He has become a living factory for disease, a writhing mass of agonized flesh and suffering. He has become pestilence itself. *'Aogarebyou' (青枯れ病, lit. "Bacterial Wilt"): These yin-imbued, yang-consuming bacteria react aggressively and rapidly multiply when exposed to Yang chakra. Tired of having victims of his attacks saved by the ministrations of medical ninja, Naraku developed this especially viscous bacteria as punishment against the heretics. When Yang chakra is expelled into a victim, they immediately die and rot as their bodies are overwhelmed, and the bacteria immediately jump from the victim to the healer. The yang-enriched medical ninja always perish as they are consumed from the inside out by the rot. The staff of entire hospitals have been decimated by the appearance of this insidious illness. This disease's technical name is necrotizing fasciitis. Kokushi has developed strains of this bacteria that consume elemental chakras instead of Yang. The speed of this bacteria's replication is proportionate to the volume of associated energy it is exposed to.Transmission:: Contact, injury, ingestion, inhalation. Onset Time: Days or Immediate (yang chakra). Type: Bacterial. *'Chakra Virus' (チャクラウイルス, Chakura Virusu): A very dangerous and rare virus that affects a person's ability to mold chakra, turning their own chakra into fever. This variant of the virus causes extreme swelling and pain, stopping blood flow and subsequent tissue death. As a virus, it is fast-acting, and the symptoms can begin appearing in moments. If not treated immediately, this virus causes death in victims via suffocation or organ failure due to overheating. Transmission:: Injury, ingestion, inhalation. Onset Time: Immediate. Type: Viral. *'Hatsugan' (発癌, lit. "Carcinogenesis"): By injecting benign tumors into his opponents as he releases Yin chakra into them, he can awaken the tumors' malice. They rapidly spread through the victim's body, doing great harm to his nervous system and weakening his immune response. Left unchecked, these tumors can grow to a great size, dislocating bones and internal organs and causing extreme discomfort and pain. Eventually, a victim perishes as these flesh-filled pustules draw out the last of his vitality and rupture. Transmission:: Injury, Ingestion. Onset Time: Immediate. Type: Cancerous. *'Hatsugan Utsushi' (発癌 写し, lit. "Carcinogenesis Facsimile"): A variation of his original Hatsugan disease, this disease creates fully autonomous tumor-composed clones from the original. It's a sickening sight, as these malformed beings bud from the flesh of their original, ripping and tearing their way free as they scream in pain and rage. Their warped and disgusting features are a crude mockery of the original, and their bodies are primitive and imperfect, but since they possess the same flesh they are fully capable of emulating any release or kekkei genkai possessed by their "parent". Thanks to the speed of their cellular replication, they also possess a form of high speed regeneration. Transmission: Injury, Ingestion. Onset Time: Immediate. Type: Cancerous. *'Ikari' (怒り, lit. "Rage"): This virus enters the body via saliva or blood, and rapidly replicates itself in the brain, causing swelling. This swelling leads to bleeding from the eyes, ears and mouth, and puts great pressure on the brain. Particular sections receive an overabundance of blood- others receive little to the extent that the emotional controls of the brain are completely overridden. Within hours, all infected become completely overwhelmed by a sense of hatred and a desire to brutally destroy any moving thing they can sense. This is not a lethal condition, except insofar that infected do not feel hunger or thirst, and eventually perish due to malnutrition or dehydration. This virus is the weapon Kokushi employed against two warring nations, that ultimately led to their mutual destruction. The two nations had achieved an armistice, but when civilians on the border began taking violent action against either government, the war reignited. By the time the countries realized their mistake, it was already too late. The virus had already spread too far and wide to be contained. Transmission: Injury, Ingestion. Onset Time: Three hours. Type: Viral. *'Kokushibyou' (黒死病, lit. "Black Death"): A bacteria-based wasting disease that is transmitted via fleas, the black death is responsible for great destruction, historically. At one point in history, roughly twenty-five percent of the human population worldwide died from outbreaks of this disease. Symptoms often include gangrene, darkening and rotting in the fingertips, nose, toes, and genitals, and a lack of sensation in the skin. Burning corpses only serves to spread the disease further. Any creature that possesses fleas is capable of transmitting this disease. Kokushi no Naraku often places this disease within the reanimated corpses of rats, birds, and other small animals before sending them to high-population centers of trade such as ports and cities. He has developed a hyper-lethal variety that slays nearly one hundred percent of victims, but has not yet released it into the wild. Transmission: Injury, Ingestion, Inhalation, Contact.' Onset Time:' Two days. Type: Bacterial, Parasitic. *'Noushi' (脳死, lit. "Brain Death"): Noushi is caused by a microscopic worm-like parasite that enters the body via the pores in the victims skin. After navigating the bloodstream, it lodges within the brain and begins consuming the fat-rich tissue. As it rapidly replicates, it produces waste toxins and incomplete protein strands called prions. As this occurs, the victims' speech becomes slurred, and they become unresponsive to physical or mental stimulus. These substances bind to the brain cells and nervous system, inducing seizures and comas. Victims typically perish two weeks after being infected due to brain death. Transmission: Contact, Ingestion. Onset Time: One day. Type: Parasitic. *'Shokuchuudokukin' (食中毒菌, lit. "Food Poisoning Fungus"): This fungus consumes calorie-rich plant matter with great speed. It's milky-slime like appearance looks harmless, but mycotoxins within actually cause a dangerous allergic reaction in humans. It spreads via spores through the air and through contact. Attempting to use water to wash it off of plants simply spreads it faster, as the water transports the mold to new hosts. It cannot survive in dry, arid conditions. Kokushi employs this mold as a means of destroying food supplies for larger communities. He has also developed a unique strain that consumes polymers and fabrics instead of plant matter.Transmission: Contact. Onset Time: Two days. Type: Fungal *'Shukketsunetsu' (出血熱, lit. "Hemorrhagic Fever"): Shukketsunetsu is an extremely fast-acting, extremely lethal disease. This viral infection's first symptoms begin are flu-like, but rapidly become evident as a more dangerous threat. Chest pains and exhaustion are followed by breathlessness, abdominal pain, anorexia, rashes, soreness of the throat and lungs, cough, hiccups. Still more severe symptoms later manifest in victims as severe headaches, agitation, confusion, fatigue, depression, seizures, and coma. Internal hemorrhaging occurs as internal organs and tissue begin to fail. The final stages include bleeding through the skin and all orifices. This disease has an incubation period of approximately twelve days, but can last as long as twenty five, allowing it to be spread rapidly and easily among people without their knowledge. It can also "jump" from animals to humans with relative ease. Transmission: Injury, Ingestion, Inhalation, Contact. Onset Time: 12 days (aprox.) Type: Viral. Jujutsu: Shiji Hyōketsu (死司憑血, lit. "Curse Technique: Death Controlling Possessed Blood"): This technique is identical to the one employed by Hidan, with one notable exception; Kokushi is not immortal. According to the beliefs of Jashinism, knowledge of the truth of death has a price. Hidan was a heretic and traitor to Jashinism, who defiled their art by seeking a form of immortality. He sought to trick death, to avoid it- to reject the gift of Jashin. Jashin granted this immortality to Hidan as an ultimate punishment; torment without end. First, the symbol of Jashin is drawn. Kokushi then stands within the boundaries of the circle, and imbibe his target's blood. The victim then experiences all wounds that are visited upon the body of the person who initiated the curse. The sheer number of diseases inhabiting Kokushi's body provide him with a constant, unimaginable torment. Usually, it is enough for them to die from the shock of the pain alone, thanks to the hundreds of diseases that dwell within Naraku. Even if this is not sufficient, the target's automatic immune response against the phantom illnesses is. Jujutsu: Sanketsu Shi (呪術 酸欠 死, lit. "Curse Technique: Suffocation Death"): After invoking the name of Jashin and his target, a field of air surrounds and envelops the target. These flowing winds form a seal around the body, and specifically the mouth and nose, drawing air away from the target. This vacuum pressure prevents the drawing of breath since it exceeds the suction of a person's lungs. In approximately thirty seconds, the target will suffocate. Vigorous physical activity, panic, or the performance of jutsu shortens this span considerably. Trivia *Kokushi no Naraku enjoys writing, and has in fact published three books of poetry under an alias, all of which were well received by the public. *Kokushi no Naraku keeps up with modern innovations in medical care and research, and has infiltrated several medical conventions in order to acquaint himself with new developments and treatments. *He's acquired the nickname "Doctor Death" because of his habit of using Henge to disguise himself as local doctors in order to introduce his diseases into new populations without arousing suspicions. Behind the Scenes *The image for Kokushi is Psycho Mantis from the Metal Gear Solid game series. *All of Naraku's diseases, and even the syndrome he possesses, are creative interpretations of real-world diseases or syndromes such as rabies, ebola, cancer, mad-cow disease, and others.